The Blue Whole Gallery plans to ring in the New Year with a juried art show for the first time in the gallery’s history.

For the month of January, the gallery will have 62 pieces of 2-D art exhibited in its monthly show set to debut at a free reception during the First Friday Art Walk from 5-8 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 4, at the Blue Whole Gallery, 129 W. Washington St.

Joyce Volmut, Blue Whole Gallery president and show coordinator, said this is the first juried show the gallery has done and is an opportunity to bring in more artists from Sequim and the surrounding area.

“Normally we have a featured artist from one of our members, but we decided to expand (the show) into the community a little bit more,” Volmut said.

“In the past, it’s always been members or guest artists.”

Volmut said submission entries were open to all artists and the gallery received many from artists outside the Sequim area, such as Vashon Island, Port Ludlow, Port Orchard, Kent, Renton and more.

She sent a call to artists to many smaller galleries in the area with the hope of bringing new artists into the gallery.

“I sent out notices to a lot of small art galleries rather than larger ones,” she said. “I was attempting to bring in people who may not normally apply for competitions in some of the bigger shows.”

A total of 149 pieces of art were submitted by 59 local artists, according to a press release sent by the gallery.

The four jurors selected to judge the works of art were artists Lynne Armstrong, Jeannine Chappell, Carol Janda and Karen Rozbicki Stringer. They used a list of criteria to judge submissions and decided on which pieces to select.

Artists will have a chance to win awards in five different categories at the First Friday Art Walk reception on Jan. 4 where the winners will be announced. Within those five categories are a Juror’s Choice Award and a People’s Choice Award, where reception attendees will vote on their favorite pieces of art.

For more information about the event, contact the Blue Whole Gallery at 360-681-6033.